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Associate Prof Dr. Puteri Shafinaz Abdul Rahman received her tertiary education at the University of Malaya. She was awarded by the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Commission United Kingdom, a Split-site Doctorate scholarship to pursue her PhD (Proteomics) at the Nottingham Trent University and the University of Malaya. She completed her PhD in 2007 and, shortly after, joined the Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Puteri is a founding member of Universiti Malaya Centre for Proteomic Research (UMCPR), and she is currently heading the centre. She is actively involved in research and has published more than 45 referred publications, with an H index of 12 (WOS). In addition, she is a recipient of numerous research grants with a cumulative total of > RM2.5 million as Principal Investigator and collaborative investigator capacity. Since 2009, 7 Masters and 7 PhDs have completed their studies with success under her guidance. Currently, they are 3 Masters and 5 PhDs under her supervision.

Dr. Puteri is the Head of the Unit for Central Research Laboratories, a designated facility with state-of-the-art proteomics and genomics research equipment at the Faculty of Medicine. Considering her vast experience in research management, she has also held several administrative posts under the portfolio of DVC Research & Innovation. She was appointed Deputy Dean of the Innovative Technology Research Cluster (2015-2018), Deputy Dean of Frontiers of the Natural World Research Cluster (2019-2021) and served as a reviewer for evaluating various grants at the national and international level.

In terms of research, as a molecular biologist and proteomic scientist, Dr. Puteri's primary expertise is in the field of comparative proteomics. Her team employs the use of proteomic platforms in developing proteome profiles of biological samples. By comparing the generated proteome profiles (e.g. disease vs non-disease state, treated vs untreated, different stages or time-points), dysregulated or aberrant proteins of interest are detected and identified via mass spectrometry approaches. Using this workflow, her team has analysed profiles of sera from cancer patients with gynaecological, nasopharyngeal and bone cancers in search of potential biomarkers for the detection of cancers at an early stage. Dr. Puteri was acknowledged for her work on proteomics of gynaecological cancer when she was selected as the first prize winner of the coveted Merck Young Scientist Award in 2008. In addition to cancer biomarker studies, her team has utilised proteomics technologies for studies on natural products and herbal medicine to understand the benefits of these extracts/compounds and unravel their mechanistic basis for the treatment of various diseases. Her team is also actively profiling proteins associated with the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and soluble fraction of human milk in comparison to other animal species. Their current project focuses on the proteome, metabolome and circadian profiles of milk from mothers in the early stages of breastfeeding babies up to 2 years of age. The aim is to investigate the interrelationship of the bioactive milk constituents and their roles in young infants' immune protection and cognitive and physical growth development.